Let’s talk about assessability. With nationalized health care, service for the sick will be of universal assessability. It means that everyone will be able to receive proper health care when they need it. The doctors cannot pick or choose which patients they will take in. With privatized health care, doctors may reject patients due to their disability to pay the cost; but that possibility is eliminated with nationalized health care. Going back to the speech of the first speaker of the proposition side, the relationship between doctor and patient is actually closer in nationalized health care. When privatized, doctors may choose to not treat a certain illness or to not provide certain service that the patient wants. In that case, the patient has to find another doctor that will treat him/her. That time of seeking another doctor, the patient’s condition may get worse, resulting in a devastating condition for the patient. Also, insurance company, with nationalized health care, cannot pick or choose their customers either. With privatized health care, the insurance companies, as it is a company and seeks profits, will not accept customers already with illness or set different limits or benefits to those already sick and ill. This is what commonly happens with insurance companies. They set vague conditions of acceptance of the insurance, and later change it depending on the status of patient.

Nationalized health care benefits every citizen; securing health is essential for our country’s development in the long run as well. With sick people and only limited group of healthy people, the country will face difficulties in developing, because of limited human resources. Health of the citizen is the wealth of the country. Making sure that everyone healthy is crucial. Nationalized health care will make sure of that.

not blending in.

cause dis-integrity,

not

towards a peaceful, harmonized

world

blocked, hindered by

disequilibirum.

nuclear weapons, terrors, wars

here and there -

injustice,

not just of one country,

but of

all countries.

hand in hand,

harmonious, peaceful.

discussion, association

treaties, agreements

understanding and tolerance.

inching toward equilibrium

toward smiles and embrace.

towards eternal peace.

Hate results from different experiences and thoughts. It can be seen as “the result of love abused” or possibly “the product of fear”; then why not  “a by-product of self-centeredness”? What is ‘hate’ exactly? Not the dictionary definition, but what people actually accept it as in their real life, inside their minds, than just on paper.

“The result of love abused”; sound somewhat dramatic but actually love can be abused. Think of orphans who have been left on the door steps; their parental love has been abused. Maybe  a woman whose marriage has been broken once; she may develop a hatred for marriage life.

Drifting away from love, let’s think about “fear.” A little child who was running around, fell and scraped his knee badly. It’s so awful, all that blood and mess; he is scared, he is afraid, he is enveloped in fear. The little boy may come to hate running – something that caused him so much pain in the past. A college student, who always was timid to stand in front of other people, has to give a major presentation in front of her class and professor, and it’s worth a lot in her grade. If you failed it, experienced extreme embarrassment may cause her to hate presenting more, and maybe even the professor who caused her embarrassment.

Enough of something that caused you pain; how about something that can bring you benefits and something that can make other people bow down to you, a magnficient power: self-centeredness. A business man who only thinks of himself will try to get a raise, even if it will cause others pain and lost. He’s self-centered; he doesn’t care. Always trying to put himself first, the businessman will soon find someone who won’t let him past with his ways. The self-centered man will be so infuriated by the fact that  someone is trying to put him in a position he does not deserve, will create a hate for that someone. The thing about self-centeredness is that not only does it cause ‘hate’ for oneself, it also brings a sense of hatred in the people  around one. Also, self-centeredness is something that’s in everyone, just like hate. People pushing each other to get on the bus first, people too busy with their own life to look around and help someone in need, people using all sorts of tricks to reach their goal and harming others; those come with self-centeredness in many people.

Think about something you hate; isn’t it something that was caused by self-centeredness, of yourself or others? There will be at least one that is so.

Korea, making every other drug except medical drugs and tobacco illegal, is quite successful in blocking cocaine. Because Korea prevented drugs from the beginning and therefore making drugs unavailable to the people,  people don’t even think of trying to get it. Also, ‘drugs’ itself is quite distant from Koreans, something that is only seen in movies; in real life,  it’s unfamiliar.

For those countries like the U.S. where drugs like marijuana is legal, greater effort and new policy is needed to prevent the spread of much fatal drugs. Putting restrictions like that of Korea will not be successful in the U.S; people have already tasted the drugs so if they are forced away from the drugs, black markets will appear, creating other critical problems. Commonly education is considered as a solution, but the U.S. offers drug related health classes (called D.R.U.G.S.) since elementary school; still, many teenagers have access to drugs. At this point, the only solution that comes into mind is enforcing the coastline and the airport, keeping a keen eye out for the illegal drugs creeping in.

- a vaccine for pneumonia exsts, but not provided to the dying children

=> Children under 5 years of age, those little souls who have yet experienced all the wonders of life, lost the sparkle in their eyes, the smiles on their lips, the sweet breath of life, just because of a mere pneumonia. Vaccine for pneumonia is available and provided; it’s just that the supply does’t reach those swett, dying children. It’s a great tradegy, to lose all those children, the future of a country to a disease that can be cured and prevented.

The service groups that offer aide to those children should make sure all children get equal chances to get the cure; also the vaccine has to be spread deep into the countryside, not just around the capital. Along with the vaccine, better hygiene should be provided so that no more diseases spread.

Roald Dahl, born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13^th of 1916, was the only son of his Norwegian parents. He lost an elder sister to appendicitis and his father to pneumonia when Dahl was only three. (Dahl has quite a tragic family story; later, he loses a daughter to measles and his son, when still a baby, gets hit by a car which causes the child major head injuries [Howard].) His mother brought up all six children, making sure they received proper education in British schools, which Dahl’s late father believed was absolutely necessary.

Dahl’s father, Harold himself was a great diary writer. Dahl recalls “I still have one of his many notebooks from the Great War of 1914-18. Every single day during those five war years he would write several pages of comment and observation about the events of the time” (Dahl 13). Dahl’s mother, Sofie enjoyed storytelling. Dahl also recalls “she had a crystal-clear intellect and a deep interest in almost everything under the sun, from horticulture to cooking, to wine to literature to paintings, to furniture to birds and dogs and other animals” (Dahl and Dahl 143). Roald Dahl clearly was Harold and Sofie’s son; Dahl himself kept a secret diary since he was only eight years old – hiding it in a waterproof tin box at the top of a tree to make sure his sisters didn’t get a peek in it. He also had many interests and passions. As his widow Liccy put it, his passion ranged from “racing greyhounds to breeding homing budgies, medical inventions, orchids, onions, gambling, gold, wine, music, art, antiques and wine” (Roald Dahl Official Website). Until his death on November 23^rd of 1990, Dahl continued to carry out his hobbies and express his passion, along with writing.

Dahl was first sent to Llandaff Cathedral School, at the age of seven. His chief memory while attending this school was the visits to the sweetshops. Dahl and his four friends will linger outside the shop window and ponder on how each sweet was made. When he was nine, Dahl was sent to St. Peters, where he didn’t find life there as sweet as before. He developed acute homesickness. To alleviate the yearning for home, the young child started to write to his mother once a week, which became a habit and continued for 32 years until his mother’s death. Later, when Dahl’s children were sent to boarding schools, he wrote to them once every two weeks to brighten up their boarding-days. Dahl started to attend Repton, a famous school in Derbyshire, when he was thirteen. His athletic abilities were superb; he was made captain of the school squash team, and he also played for the soccer team. He particularly excelled in heavyweight boxing and squash. Interesting, that even though he grew up to be one of the most beloved writers of 20^th century, he was deemed as “quite incapable of marshalling his thoughts on paper” by his English master (Roald Dahl Official Website).

After what he recalls as a miserable childhood, Dahl didn’t go straight to a university, but rather joined the Public Schools Exploring Society’s expedition to Newfoundland. Afterwards, he started to work as a salesman in Dar es Salaam. When Dahl was 23, World War II broke out. Dahl signed up for the Royal Air Force in Nairobi. He was trained as a pilot officer for the Gladiator fighters. After recovering from a direct hit during the Battle of Athens, he was sent to serve in the Hurricanes. In 1942, he was sent to Washington as an air attaché. Here, he met a crucial, significant figure of his life – the person who would set him on a new path, leading towards writing. Dahl was requested by C.S Forester to talk about his account of the war; Forester was involved in an effort to publicize British war efforts in the U.S. Dahl said he would like to write about it himself and he did. After reading over it, Forester sent him a cheque for $900 to allow the work to be published in the Saturday Evening Post.

Dahl started out writing – stories filled with devilish twists – for adults; it was not until he became a father himself that he became passionate about writing children books. He made up bedtime stories for his children, which is how “James and the Giant Peach” came to be written. Dahl got indulged into writing children books. His second book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Both “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” were turned into major films. Also, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” was produced into a stop-motion animation and will be in theaters by this month (Lim). He continued producing best-selling books afterwards, including “The BFG,” “The Witches,” and “The Twits.” Dahl’s penultimate book, “Matilda,” recorded sales of over half a million copies in just six months. Even to this day, Dahl’s books remain best-sellers and must-haves on the shelves of many homes around the globe.

Unlike the children stories, the short stories Dahl wrote aimed at adults were full of diabolic twists and startling endings. Practically all of Dahl’s short story plots are related to ‘death’ or ‘humiliation’ and the like that drives people into the ground. He won the Edgar® Awards from the Mystery Writers of America three times. “Tales of the Unexpected,” a collection of short stories, was aired as a television show between 1979 and 1988. Each episode was based on a short story in the collection; each story was sometimes sinister, sometimes wryly comedic, and most of the times, ended with a twist.

This story bank was filled mostly with memories of childhood. His mother, a beloved storyteller, told stories of trolls and Norwegian myths to her children, which later came to influence Dahl in writing his creative children stories. His memories at school also influenced him. When he was in Llandaff Cathedral School, he and his four little friends would wander in front of sweetshops and wonder about candies and liquorices. Along with this memory, the memory of the time when he was in Repton – how Cadbury’s, a chocolate factory nearby the school, would test their new chocolates on the schoolboys – greatly influenced his fabulous “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” His miserable school life in St. Peters also played a part in Dahl’s tales; Dahl once said that his writings were distinguished from other writers’ due to “this business of remembering what it was like to be young” (Roald Dahl Official Website).

As a great fan of Roald Dahl, one cannot choose over his children books and adult short stories; Roald Dahl himself favored his children stories over his short stories, saying that the job of keeping children’s attention was difficult, yet lovely. As a child, Dahl’s tales introduced one to a new world, took one into a place that never occurred in one’s mind and let one to freely roam about along with the characters in the story. Dahl has a clever way of making the reader feel as if he or she is being addressed directly, as if Dahl himself is actually telling the story in person (Walliams). After the childhood of Dahl’s children books, one found other stories of Roald Dahl, a completely different genre and writing style, a new side, a new charm of Roald Dahl’s writings. The ‘tense-relax-linger’ of unexpected endings kept one craving for more, the sinister yet hilarious twists and happenings would not let one release the book of hold; Dahl’s short stories absolutely captures and carries the reader away – into a world of suspense and irony.

Such pity no more new Roald Dahl books will come out; however, Dahl’s sense of humor and his irresistible style of writing are still alive in his books, exhaling Dahl’s passion for writing and inhaling the excitement of the readers. Highly influenced by his childhood, Dahl’s books – both charming children books and outrageous adult books – possess a unique enthrallment that still captures the eyes and minds of readers today.

Works Citied

1. Dahl, Roald. Boy. New York: Puffin Books, 1984
2. Dahl, Felicity, and Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl’s Cookbook. New York: Puffin Books, 1991
3. Roald Dahl Official Homepage. 22 September 2008. The Roald Dahl Foundation. 29 September 2009 <http://www.roalddahl.com>
4. Lim, Dennis. “Animal Wrangling in Miniature.” New York Times. 30 October 2009: B1
5. Walliams, David. “Roald Dahl and me.” The Independent. 4 November 2009: B2
6. Howard, Kristine. “Timelines.” Roald Dahl Fans. 1996. University of Notre Dame. 4 November 2009 <http://www.roalddahlfans.com/timelines.php>

A crowd of people, watching with curious eyes.

Sound of the judges scribbling down notes and possibly points.

The smell of hard-work, trying the best till the end.

The touch of the judge’s soft pat on the shoulder, saying “Good job”

A thought creeping up to my mind,

‘Yes, we’re gonna win’

Taste of Victory so sweet on my tongue,

“Daddy, we won”

One of the most dangerous types of criminals is THE SOCIOPATH / PSYCHOPATH

Q&A for easier understanding!

Q1: What is a Sociopath? 

A: Someone with Anti Social Personality Disorder

Q2: What causes ASPD?

A: Research shows it could be a chemical imbalance in the brain. Less gray matter found in the thinking part of the brain than found in “normal” people.

Q3: 3 types of Sociopaths?

A: 1. Primary, an emotional shell 2. Secondary, often becomes a criminal. 3. Dissociate, made anti social by the environment, i.e., terrorism, child abuse, etc.

Q4: What do all 3 of these have in common?

A: They lack a conscience.

Q5: What is the conscience?

A: Id, Ego, and Super Ego

Q6: What part of the conscience do Sociopaths lack?

A: Super Ego

Q7: What is the Super Ego?

A: The part of our conscience that tell us right from wrong within the boundaries of society.

Q8: What are their characteristics?

A: Charming, Intelligent, Complimentary, Confident, Caring, Generous, Affectionate, Convincing

Q9: What are their worst habits?

A: Compulsive liar, promiscuous, selfish, manipulative.

Q10: Who are Potential Sociopaths?

A: Statistics say that 1 in every 25 people are high risk sociopaths.

Q11: Who are Potential Victims?

A: Statistics say that everyone will be a victim of a sociopath during their lifetime.

Q12: Where do Sociopaths find their victims?

A: You will find sociopaths everywhere physically and on the Internet. (called cyberpaths)

Q13: What makes a “secondary” sociopath?

A: ASPD and lack of consistent discipline from early childhood. Being brought up in a dysfunctional family help the makeup of a sociopathic child who s most likely going to grow up to become a career criminal finding themselves in and out of jail.

Q14: Are more female or males found to be Sociopathic?

A: Males. 1 of every 3 males are found to have ASPD. A small fraction of women are found to have this disorder.

Q15: What can we do to protect ourselves?

A: Be well educated about the society we live in. Remind yourself, when you go out into the world every day, to keep your eyes open. We get sucked into our own little worlds and routine on a daily basis and is more than too late before we realize we are in the company of a sociopath.
]]> http://nothin93.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/starting-out-brief-overview-of-psychopaths/feed/ 0 nothin93 http://nothin93.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/qa-for-easier-understanding-of-sociopathspsychopaths/ http://nothin93.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/qa-for-easier-understanding-of-sociopathspsychopaths/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:51:44 +0000 nothin93 http://nothin93.wordpress.com/?p=6 ]]> Psychopaths: the inevitable social problem of 21st century

The year 2009 for Republic of Korea started out with various issues like any other year, but protruding from all the other issues was the case of Kang, Ho-Soon – a psychopath who committed over twenty murders. The shock struck the heads of all the citizens; how a person can commit so much crime and feel absolutely nothing about it. It was even more shocking that even though he behaved so inhumanly, his parental instinct was still there; he requested not to publicly reveal his identity for the sake of his son.

Psychopaths make up a separate new problem that they are not aware of their crime and are unfeeling of guilt. The meaning and purpose of imprisonment vanishes; they cannot become free from committing another crime, because they have no sense of “wrong-doing.”

One may wonder then, what they fundamental reason for their inhuman behavior is. Research showed that while some psychopaths are born with such characteristic thinking, most of them acquire it unintentionally during the early days of childhood. Watching violence among one’s parents and getting beaten up oneself causes the child to grow as an anti-social and sometimes – unfortunately – a psychopath.

Considering the fact that psychopathic personality is directly related to the brain, it is challenging to find a cure that will change the patient into a person with “normal” way of thinking. Research is ongoing, but a perfect cure is till a long way off.

What to do with and how to treat psychopaths remains ending with a question mark. Due to the fact that it is not their fault that they lost their sense of apathy, it is hard to decide what to do with them. Keeping them imprisoned forever does not seem to be a proper solution; they won’t get anything from that experience. Letting them roam around freely with such inhuman trait also doesn’t seem to be the kind of solution we are looking for.

Keeping in mind their impact on society, psychopaths have to be looked after. Research and professional knowledge is needed but public awareness and interest is crucial as well.

Psychopaths: the inevitable social problem of 21st century

The year 2009 for Republic of Korea started out with various issues like any other year, but protruding from all the other issues was the case of Kang, Ho-Soon – a psychopath who committed over twenty murders. The shock struck the heads of all the citizens; how a person can commit so much crime and feel absolutely nothing about it. It was even more shocking that even though he behaved so inhumanly, his parental instinct was still there; he requested not to publicly reveal his identity for the sake of his son.

Psychopaths make up a separate new problem that they are not aware of their crime and are unfeeling of guilt. The meaning and purpose of imprisonment vanishes; they cannot become free from committing another crime, because they have no sense of “wrong-doing.”

One may wonder then, what they fundamental reason for their inhuman behavior is. Research showed that while some psychopaths are born with such characteristic thinking, most of them acquire it unintentionally during the early days of childhood. Watching violence among one’s parents and getting beaten up oneself causes the child to grow as an anti-social and sometimes – unfortunately – a psychopath.

Considering the fact that psychopathic personality is directly related to the brain, it is challenging to find a cure that will change the patient into a person with “normal” way of thinking. Research is ongoing, but a perfect cure is till a long way off.

What to do with and how to treat psychopaths remains ending with a question mark. Due to the fact that it is not their fault that they lost their sense of apathy, it is hard to decide what to do with them. Keeping them imprisoned forever does not seem to be a proper solution; they won’t get anything from that experience. Letting them roam around freely with such inhuman trait also doesn’t seem to be the kind of solution we are looking for.

Keeping in mind their impact on society, psychopaths have to be looked after. Research and professional knowledge is needed but public awareness and interest is crucial as well.